Roth: Saying goodbye but never ‘never’

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, July 29, 2015

When I was growing up, I made all sorts of declarations on how I would live my life as an adult.

Phrases including “I’ll probably never get married” and “I’m not sure I ever want to have kids” were frequently used in my college and graduate school vocabulary, but never as much as the statement declaring “I never want to be a stay-at-home mom.”

Well, never say never.

Today’s newspaper edition marks the last I will be included in as a full-time reporter at L’OBSERVATEUR. You guessed it — I’m going to be a stay-at-home mom.

The “stay-at-home” portion of my new job title isn’t quite accurate though, as I know I’m going to be filling days with library trips and other outings and adventures with my 2-year-old daughter Olivia and 4-month-old daughter Charlie.

I cried and cried, and then cried some more, a couple years ago when my maternity leave was over for Olivia and I returned to my job in Hammond. The daily commute to Hammond from LaPlace was additional stress for a job I already didn’t like, as it meant another hour a day was spent away from my baby.

The desire to be closer to home, as well as to better utilize my journalism education and passion for writing, is what led me to L’Observateur in December 2013.

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to meet fascinating people and tell the stories of the River Region.

I’ve enjoyed my time with the paper, but when Charlie was born earlier this year I knew it was time for me to live out my biggest “never say never” phrase, which at some point actually became my dream.

My name will still pop up here and there in L’OBSERVATEUR articles and special sections, and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to meet people and tell stories, albeit on a much smaller scale.

While I’ll miss full-time writing — and having adult conversations during the day — I am eagerly anticipating the fun to come with my girls.

I told my husband I may even cook and clean regularly now … if regularly means like two times a week.

Monique Roth is the former news reporter for L’OBSERVATEUR and can be reached at monique.roth@lobservateur.com.